Tiki Tank is looking for a new owner

21427082871_b9c9498070_z

UPDATE:  We have found new owners and are in the process of transitioning ownership

Tiki Tank Crew will not be going to Burning Man this year and we have decided to sell the Tiki Tank Mutant vehicle.  We would like to find a passionate crew to operate and pass on the goodwill and reputation we have developed over the years.

It is currently registered with the Burning Man DMV for 2016 and any transfer of ownership will include coordination with their licensing.  

The origin story

Burning Man 2010 was plagued with soft dust dunes all over the city and playa, making it difficult to bike around. After multiple bike spills, Jaq and I decided to walk around, hoping to jump on art cars whenever possible.  Turns out many other people had this idea too and most vehicles were fairly overloaded.  Our attempts to hitch rides were quickly shot down by excuses of “you’re not pretty enough” , “you’re not part of our camp”, “you don’t have the VIP pass”. 

At that point we decided: “Fuck you, we’re gonna build the biggest art car we can and allow anybody and everybody on it”  

2011:  Playa Palace 1.0

Built in just a couple months, the design was very simple. Using primarily wood and LED rope lights it allowed us to ferry people around and provide a platform for entertainment.

6131063846_3554e48fcd_b (1) 6131065940_46ba821dc0_b

2012:  Playa Palace 2.0

Improving on the design from the previous year by building steel framing for an upper platform.  This allowed more people to ride, but also taught us a lot about entertaining a larger crowd.  Build goals included quicker assembly, easier egress for passengers, multiple event versatility.

8035299212_0a2643fa56_k

2013: Tiki Tank 1.0

Complete redesign of the whole vehicle.

With the Cargo Cult theme announced, we knew we wanted to build a tank.  Addressable LED’s were just becoming available and we designed custom electronics controllers to mimic rolling treads when the vehicle was moving.  Permanent wiring harnesses with all wires pre-routed, making assembly plug and play.

9672158507_0bf9cdfba8_k

2014: Tiki Tank 2.0

Continued refinement of the tank including reskinning all surfaces and much quicker assembly by improving design. New lighting electronics and controllers.   All lights are now controlled via a tablet on wifi with a huge array of lighting effects pre-programmed.   Custom web UI allows for changing of all segments and effects.  Over 2000 hours were put into design and building that year.

15204328672_07db154ec0_h

Photos:

DSC_6223.jpg

2015: Tiki Tank 3.0

Focus on passenger comfort by improving shade and interior layout, including a bar.  Additional lighting effects and further improvements in ease of assembly. Source code: https://github.com/hmflash/tikitank

21427063401_8196a5cecd_k

More photos:

 

P1020057.jpg

 

Videos of the tank:

 

Stats:

  • Located in Seattle.
  • 1994 F350 Crew Cab
  • 160k miles
  • 7.5L V8
  • Steel construction framing and flatbed.
  • ~9000 lbs empty
  • Custom electronics to read vehicle speed and render lighting effects.
  • All parts to assemble vehicle are self contained/transported within.
  • Vehicle has enough room to transport ~3000lbs of camp gear
  • The vehicle is street legal, even when fully assembled.
  • Multiple assembly modes ranging from 15 min to several hours depending on event and completeness. (shade, extra decorations, etc)
  • Holds up to 30 people
  • The vehicle takes 2 people to operate, 1 driver, 1 wrangler/entertainer for the back.  The goal was to build the biggest, most impressive art car without the need for a huge support crew.   Because it’s so simple to operate, we typically put on 200+ miles of driving around on the playa each year.

Disassembly detailed photos: https://goo.gl/photos/SESVfTE3mYy5bN4D9

Whats included?

  • Tank
  • All parts to assemble and operate (minus generator 2KW )
  • Sound system
  • Spares of almost all electronic components as backups on the playa
  • Extra parts/materials specific to the build
  • Instructions and support for assembly
  • Tiki Tank Intellectual Property:  Documentation, Domain name, logos, etc
  • 2016 DMV Registration Coordination

While not complete, there is a build log on this site, scroll through the past posts: http://www.tikitank.com/

Who?

We want a crew who will carry on our tradition of being an open, inclusive platform.  

 

 

Special thanks to everyone who help work on it over the years.  

-Divide and Tiki Tank Crew.